


Kids Who Didn't Make It

by pippen2112



Series: RvB High School Stories [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Asexual Character, Asexual!Caboose, M/M, RvB Rare Pair Week, Teacher-Student Relationship, Teacher-Teacher relationship, Unresolved Romantic Tension, special brownies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 04:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10891578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pippen2112/pseuds/pippen2112
Summary: By the time last the last bell rang, North was done.  Was it too much to ask for one Friday to go according to plan?  As the last of his students filed out of his classroom, North slumped into his desk chair and buried his face in his hands.  Yes, apparently it was.





	Kids Who Didn't Make It

**Author's Note:**

> Written for RvB Rare Pair Week. Title taken from the Fall Out Boy song "I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth"

By the time the last bell rang, North was done.  The AP test was already out of the way, so most of his senior level history students were giving themselves a well-deserved break. Still, with two weeks left in the semester, as far as the administration and school board was concerned, he still had a job to do, and dammit, North had been excited leading up to today's lesson: delving into the history of current cultural movements, showing his students that history didn't just happen in text books, but all around them.  He'd even polled is classes to find out what subjects they found most interesting.  Was it too much to ask for one Friday to go according to plan?  As the last of his students filed out of his classroom, North slumped into his desk chair and buried his face in his hands.  Yes, apparently it was.

First period had gone well, the seniors had fully engaged as he explored the history of American comics.  Some of them even made some brilliant connections about their historical and cultural significance, noticing how history impacts art impacts culture impacts history and so on.  He'd rarely felt so proud and self-assured as an educator. 

And then second period came, bringing with it the obnoxious little shit Leonard Church, the bane of North's existence.  True, Church was a genius, even had the MENSA certification to prove it, but since his father basically was the school board, Church treated that as blanket permission to behave like a douchbag.  To everyone.  So when the twat slouched into class this morning, a Tupperware container in hand, North really should have known better when his students started sneaking brownies out of the contained while Church wasn't paying attention.  Simmons had even offered North one of the four he's smuggled.   And like a trusting idiot, North grabbed a brownie for himself and swallowed it in three bites before his presentation.  No lie, it was one of the better brownies he'd had.

Twenty minutes later, North came back to himself zooming around his classroom with his blazer as a cape while his class hummed the Superman theme.  About then, he realized that maybe those brownies weren't so perfectly kosher, especially since Simmons was sitting under his desk in the front row, staring at his hands and weeping about where math came from.  But by then, the damage was done.

The rest of the day dragged North along in an exhausted blur.  In the blessed quiet of his office, North thumped his head against his desk.  Honestly, who brought pot brownies to school and left them within reach of everyone, classmates and teachers included?  North shook his head.

"Wow, you look awful."

North rolled his head toward the door, caught sight of Coach York slouched in the doorway, smirking at him.  North chuckled mirthlessly and mumbled into the desk, "Don’t you have a soccer team you should be coaching?"

"Yeah, but they kept gossiping about how the AP history teacher pretended to be Superman while higher than a kite instead of listening to me, so the captains are running them through conditioning drills until I get back."  York sauntered over and propped himself up on North's desk, idly threading a hand through his hair.  "And here I'd thought they were just being idiots."

Snorting, North shook his head and pressed back into his boyfriend's gentle comfort.  "If only."

"Well, that's something else."  York hummed, his fingers scratching through North's hair, just the right side of painful.  "Never took you for a dope fiend."

"Word to the wise," North said, finally sitting upright again.  "If Leonard Church is hoarding food, it's safe to assume its for a very "special" reason."

York laughed.  "Shit, that kid's got balls."

"That's one way to put it."

Before York could reply, someone knocked at the classroom door.  York's hand dropped out of his hair, and North rolled his chair a little farther from his desk.  True, there weren't any rules prohibiting teachers dating, but he and York tried to keep everything above board while on school property.  Well, North tried; York toed the line with a smile and a wink.

The door cracked open, and a strikingly tall brunette with a backpack slung over one shoulder peeked inside.  Not one of his students, but North thought he looked familiar.  Given his rounded cheeks and wide, worried eyes, North nearly took him for a giant freshman until York cocked his head and greeted the kid.  "Hey, Caboose.  Wasn't expecting to see you 'til Monday since you weren't in athletics this afternoon." 

Caboose?  Oh, Michael.  That's right.  North had seen him around throughout the past year.  The boy was one of Church's friends.  North nudged York when Caboose's eyes went a little wider.

"Ummm, yeah..." Caboose said, his words drawn out as he scrubbed the back of his neck.  "I had an...emergency....  Yeah.  An emergency.  Of the "Tucker did it"...type."

Another of Church's friends, North assumed.  York chuckled and shook his head.  "No worries, Caboose.  I'm not mad.  Everyone's gotta play hookie now and again."

Still, Caboose's shoulders remained tight.  Poor kid.  North elbowed York right between the ribs, knocking off York's precarious balance.  York stuck out his tongue.  Scoffing, North turned to Caboose.  "Did you need something, Michael?"

Ducking his head, Caboose scratched through his hair.  "Yeah, I was, I was wondering if I.... I mean... it's all Tucker's fault!"

North's brows wrinkled.  York righted himself and muttered a quiet, "I'll just let y'all handle whatever this is," as he headed for the classroom door.  When in clicked shut, Caboose's shoulders shuddered.  Oh no. 

North rose and crossed the room in quick strides.  "Why don't you sit down and tell me what's bothering you?" 

With a gentle hand on Caboose's shoulder--and seriously, what right did a high school senior have to have shoulders that broad--North led him over to a desk on the far side of the classroom and leaned on the desk across the aisle.  Caboose squirmed in his seat, pulling his backpack into his lap and working the zipper nervously.  He drew a shuddering breathe and sighed.  "It's really, it's all Tucker's fault.  And I don't wanna get anyone in trouble, except stupid Tucker, and I don't wanna give him stitches because he's a stupid stupid-head, and it's Church's birthday!  Oh my God, I'm such a bad friend."

"Oh....kay."  Honestly, North was more befuddled than he was three minutes ago.  Yes, he and Caboose had interacted on occasion over the year, but mostly in passing.  Why come to him?  "What is Tucker's fault?"

"Everything!" Caboose exclaimed.  If he didn't look like a neglected puppy dog, it would've been hilariously melodramatic.

North bit the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing.  "Okay, what exactly is Tucker's fault, this time?"

Gnawing on his lower lip, Caboose wiped his nose on his sleeve.  "Well, y'see.  Tucker was bragging about how he's so cool, so much cooler than Church and me.  And _nobody_ is cooler than Church.  He's my best friend.  But Tucker kept calling us shapes because we'd never smoked before, and Tucker got to all the time with his cousins.  And Church got all sad, because he couldn't get any weeds.  His dad keeps the garden too clean I guess.  And when Church gets sad, I get sad, and I thought, hey, if I can make Church happy again, maybe then he'd see how much I cared about him and he'd let me be his best friend too.  Anyway, I talked to Grif who gave me some weeds to make Church happy, but there weren't any pretty ones, so I thought, oh, maybe if I put the weeds in something Church already likes, he'll be super happy and he'll call me the best friend ever.  So, for his birthday, I made him some brownies.  I make the best brownies.  And I gave them to him after first period because we both have history then, even though Mrs. Sheila's classroom is out in the portable building behind the practice field.  And then during class, stupid Tucker told me that Church had given out the brownies and Simmons forgot how to math and you thought you were a super hero, and I'm just.  I'm sorry, Mr. North."  Caboose went quiet, sniffling.  "So yeah.  Tucker did it.  It's all Tucker's fault."

By the time North's brain had stopped spinning from processing Caboose's story, the kid was hugging his backpack to his chest, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.  "So, you made the brownies Church brought in?"

"Yeah.... But they were a surprise for his birthday.  He shouldn't get in trouble for having them.  If anyone gets in trouble, it should be Tucker.  Or... or me."  Caboose sighed, hanging his head.  "I just wanted to do something nice for Church.  He's my best friend."

 _And Church didn't think twice about hoarding your admittedly misguided birthday present._   North swallowed the surge of anger.  That wouldn't help the situation.  Not one bit.  Instead, he reached over and laid a hand on Caboose's shoulder and gave a quick squeeze.  "Thank you for coming to talk to me about this, Michael.  And for apologizing."

"I'm so sorry."  Caboose's voice quivered.  "You shouldn't have to pretend you're a hero.  You already are."

"It's okay, Michael.  I'm not mad."

When Caboose looked up, his eyes were glossy, his brow pinched.  "You're... not?"

"Not at you, no.  It was an accident, and if it had happened with another teacher around, I'd have to report it to the school board.  But you made a mistake.  That's all."

"And no one's in trouble?  Not even Tucker?"

"Not even Tucker."

Caboose groused a bit before rubbing his eyes.  "Stupid Tucker.  Can't even get in trouble right."

North shook his head, grinning for a moment before his mouth drooped.  "Michael, I know it's not my place, but maybe you shouldn't put so much stock in Leonard.  He may not feel the same way about your friendship."

Caboose's brow wrinkled.  "He's my best friend."

Sucking in a quick breath, North replied, "Yes, but just because you feel that way about him, that doesn't mean he feels the same.  In the long run, you might be happier letting someone else be your best friend."

"Eh, I don't know," Caboose began, rubbing his neck again.  "I have big feelings.  Most people don't feel the same way I feel about them.  Church, Sheila, you, my mom, stupid Tucker--"

North's eyes bulged.  "Me?"

Caboose nodded.  "Yeah, you're always nice to me even though I'm not smart enough for your class, and when you smile my chest feels kinda funny and my legs forget how to work.  But you like doing messy things with Coach York under the bleachers," (North flushes because _dammit, York_ , he'd known fooling under the bleachers like a pair of hormonal teenagers was a bad idea.) "Things that looks weird and a little gross.  But he makes you smile, so I'm okay with it."  Caboose shrugged.  "Yeah, feelings are weird."

North laughed, a little breathless and flushed at Caboose's overt statements, his honesty.  It was refreshingly endearing, and only convinced North further that Leonard Church did not deserve a friend like Michael Caboose.   He grinned a little but folded his hands in his lap and squeezed them tight.  "Um, did you need to talk about anything else?"

Caboose shook his head, rising from the desk and sliding on his backpack. "No.  So long as no one's in trouble.  And you're not upset."

Nodding, North shoved his hands into his pockets.  "I'm okay, Michael.  Just flustered and a little embarrassed about this morning.  But I'm not upset.  Promise."

"Okay."  Caboose headed for the door, calling over his shoulder, "Thanks again, Mr. North."

Exhaling, North dropped into one of the student desks.  Yeah, after today, he needed a bottle of whiskey.  But at least it was only two weeks left in the school year.  Thank God.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and constructive criticism appreciated. Come find me on Tumblr @birdsbeesandlemonadetrees.


End file.
